A few weeks ago on my doula Facebook page I announced that I will not be taking anymore doula families on at this time. My body physically wont allow me to provide the support that I know mothers need during labor. Coming to this realization really hurt me deep down to my core. I felt defeated. Even though I am still doing birth photography full time, I still have a passion for helping mothers and supporting them. My best friend and my doula from my daughters birth opened my eyes though. Doulas that are active in their business and take on families each month sometimes can not provide doula mentoring to other new and aspiring doulas. She told me that she thinks I would be great at it. I had to really pray and ponder the idea for a while before making this decision.

I am now offering one on one doula mentoring. My mentoring will consist of one on one meetings that will be beneficial to any new doula starting her business. I will go over the initial first meeting, booking, prenatal visits, birth plans, comfort measures, how to support mom and partner in labor, how to support a spouse of a deployed military member and so much more. I will go into everything that you need to know about being a doula and how to get started. I remember starting my doula business and not having one person that I could just contact and sit and chat with. I want to be that person for new doulas. I want to make sure that their first birth they feel confident that they can support that mom instead of like they were thrown in the ring with lions. I have already contacted a local home birth midwife as well in the Hampton Roads area that is willing to let new doulas attend some home births and support a mom and learn from her the role as a doula. I plan to ask other midwives as well if they will be on board that way people who mentor through me can see a home birth and a midwife assisted birth first. Hospitals can be a little scary at points when you walk in for your first birth and not know where to go or who to ask questions to etc. I want to make sure that new doulas can walk in with confidence and feel like they can say "I got this".

I am currently working out all of the information for pricing and how many people I can take a month to mentor. Please bare with me while I work out all of the logistics. I will make another blog post to announce when the link is ready to go!

Learning what positions are great for childbirth are a must for all moms. No matter if you want a natural childbirth or even a medicated one your position is key to making your labor faster and more effective. Having your body in the right alignment for baby to be in the right position in the womb can change your birth for the better. I will attach some pictures of some amazing positions for labor with or without a epidural. Please remember too that you DO have the option to walk around during your labor. If you are laboring well and nothing is going wrong there is no reason you should be kept in a bed. Move those hips around. With studies done it has been proven that most women who move around during labor have a faster and less painful labor. Find what works for you and get into a groove during labor. That is the key!

Another thing to think about with delivery is that when you are laying on your back you lose 30% of your pelvic space for baby to fit through. When pushing on your back you have to push baby down and up to get baby out. When squatting or on hands and knees you only have to push baby out! Something great to think of when its time to deliver that baby. Below is a great example to show exactly how position will make delivering a baby easier.

Remember if you have any questions about labor and childbirth please feel free to contact me via email!

In my professional opinion and personal opinion a doula can help all moms no matter what their birth plan may be. With my daughters birth I had hired a doula to attend and last minute invited a doula in training into my birth as well. The two of them worked amazingly along side each other to calm me and help with massage. They also took the burden off of my husband so he could focus on the positive affirmations and hitting the play list so my focus song could play. Everyone worked in sync and the outcome was more than I could have ever imagined. I had my natural vaginal birth in 2.5 hours!! Best decision I have ever made was hiring a doula for myself.

There are many ways that a doula can help even if you are not planning a un-medicated birth. Doulas help with educating you during your pregnancy and empowering the woman with the decisions that she has made for herself. We help to build a birth plan and make sure moms have thought of every possible outcome and educate them on all of their decisions. During labor we help with position changes, breathing techniques, meditation, massage therapy, pressure point therapy, pain management, aromatherapy and the list goes on. Even if a mom has a epidural we can still help with positions in bed to help speed up labor. During c-sections births we help with still making a mom feel empowered and letting her know all of her options. The day of delivery we help with emotional support for mom and partner as well as helping to keep things organized and flowing smoothly. After we help with breastfeeding and getting mom and baby to bond. There is really a endless amount of knowledge and support that a doula can offer a growing family.

Now how did I go about picking a doula? I suggest making a list first of your wants and needs for your labor and delivery. Starting writing them down early on and start interviewing doulas to find the right fit. As a doula myself I already knew what I wanted in a doula and knew exactly who to go to! My doula Whitney was confident, strong, empowering, educated and had a natural birth herself. I wanted someone to tell me like it is and tell me to suck it up and keep going and that is exactly what she did. The second doula Jessica who was in training was funny and witty and could break the ice and keep us laughing for hours. I knew the second I saw that she was looking for another birth for certification that I had to have her in there with me. I built the perfect birth team for the perfect birth.

Here are some questions that you should ask a doula you are interviewing

Are you available for my due date? (This is a really important question of course haha!)

What are your fees and what do they include?

Do you have a backup doula on call? If so can I meet/chat with them?

What kind of training and experience do you have as a doula. Are you certified and if so what company are you certified through?

Have you ever attended a birth at the hospital/birth center I am delivering at? If so how do you get along with the care provider?

How far away do you live from my birth place?

If you are having a home birth- Have you ever attended a home birth and if so with what midwife? How did you get along with her and the birth team?

How many clients do you take a month?

Do you have testimonials form former clients or can I chat with one?

What kind of care do you give as a doula?

If I am to have a epidural or c-section how would you help and support me?

Do you help guide my partner with how to help me during labor?

Do you offer in home prenatal meetings?

Are you okay with___________________(anything that is important for your birth plan like Hypnobabies, Lamaze, Positions, partner helping, water birth etc)

When would you arrive to my labor and how long do you stay?

Do you have a lending library?

Do you have proper childcare for your children during a birth?

Do you have proper transportation to get to my labor?

Do you stay after birth to help with breastfeeding?

Do you do a postpartum visit?

I hope these questions give you a great example of things to ask a doula you are interviewing. It is important for you to feel comfortable with a doula as well as connecting to them. They will be one of your main supports during a very important time in your life and you want to feel 100% connected to them.

I will post a downloadable version of this list to my What Does a Doula Do page.

Did you have a doula attend your birth? Comment below on how they helped you during your labor and delivery!

This is a fun question to ask mommas after they had their first baby. For me I was shocked that I actually would bleed for a while after giving birth. I had no clue and it never crossed my mind as to what would happen "down there" after baby came out. I think I was so fixated on the prize after birth (my baby) that it completely did not click that things would still be going on down under. Share with me what you were most shocked about in the comments below!

Here is a great trick to helping soothe a sore bottom after baby. I made these with my son as well as my daughter. Pretty cheap to prep and they feel oh so amazing after the fact! Click the button below the picture for the recipe to make them.